Kiss from a Thief
by HoT.aGaiNsT.a.WaLL
Summary: A gift from a charmer, a promise from a man, and a kiss from a thief. One-shot. RedxRae.


**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own Teen Titans. I simply write what I wish would come to pass. Sadly, I'm sure it never will.

**Warning:**

**Author's Note:** Hey, hey, hey! Okay, so I know I should be working on Chess or Just to Sleep at Night, but I couldn't resist. My muse was pushing me to write this little one-shot. I'm sure you all can forgive me. :D

**---Teen Titans---Teen Titans---Teen Titans---**

Her head throbbed even as she settled herself down for a cup of steaming tea. The sweet, heady scent calmed her, but only slightly as her knees buckled underneath her and she plopped back onto the couch with a strange grace. Squeezing her eyes shut, she inhaled deeply, hoping the herbal scent would drug her in a way that made the pain stop. There was a lot her body could put up with that other humans would find unbearable, but headaches were something she would never have a tolerance for. Her pulse pounded at the back of her head, centering around the spot where her head had been slammed back against a wall earlier that night.

Raven jumped, almost dropping the scorching cup of tea in her lap as Cyborg and Beast Boy came running into the main room. So much for the peace and quiet she'd thought she'd had. A storm raged on outside, and she glared at the rain through the window. She blamed it for helping that thief escape from her grasp, and send her spiraling into a pit of self-pity and dizziness. Not something she was used to, with her track record. Cyborg slid into the spot on one side of her, while Beast Boy hoped over the edge of the couch and grinned up at her idiotically.

"Wanna watch somethin', Raven?" He asked innocently, his eyes glittering with hope.

"What?" She didn't turn to face him, but tried to keep her voice interested.

"It's scary," He chuckled, draping his arms around the back of the black couch. "You remember what happened last time it was scary."

"I do," She rolled her eyes, staring into the red liquid in her cup. "But I also remember that it was two years ago."

"True enough!" Cyborg grinned from ear to ear, handing a DVD over to the smaller of the two. "Put her in, BB."

"You got it, dude," The green boy stood, rushing over to the player that connected to their large mega-screen TV.

Sighing, Raven set her mug on the table, not feeling the need to drink it anymore as the pain in her head dulled to a small ache. She'd be fine for now. With a distraction from the pain. These two had a strange way of doing that. Making her forget her problems. Making her forget Robin's problems.

He'd chewed her out pretty bad when they'd returned from the burglary. Something about it being her fault the perp. escaped and what not. Her heart really went out to the masked Boy Wonder sometimes. This was not one of those times. This was the other half of the time where she wanted to rip his head off. But she couldn't really blame him… It's not like he _knew_ she'd been bleeding from the back of her head where said escaped perp. had _slammed_ her _head_ against a _wall_. Just thought that needed repeating.

Raven smiled softly as Beast Boy found himself at home next to her after he flipped the lights off. He was like a little brother. An annoying, perverted, not funny little brother. But a little brother none-the-less. Cyborg chuckled a bit as the movie flickered to life on the screen in front of them. Cy was like a big brother. Simple as that. Luckily, Robin wasn't there at the moment. He and Starfire had gone out on a 'date'. Or what little of a date they could have in weather like this.

As the film started, Raven could help but think back to an hour or so before. When they'd been called out by an alarm going off in a jewelry store.

_They entered the large building with silent steps, careful not to alert whomever might be steeling from the place. Diamonds glittered brightly as Starfire lit the way with a green ball of energy. Raven looked around with feigned interest, feeling an unknown presence deeper into the store. She signaled the other Titans and floated forward, her feet barely brushing the ground. _

_Suddenly, there was a flash of red and their light was doused as Starfire fell to the floor with a soft thump. Robin rushed to her side immediately, almost tripping in the dark as a soft chuckle echoed around the room. Boy Wonder growled in recognition of the metallic voice, and Red-X stepped out of the shadows as a flash of lightning illuminated the shop for a second. _

_"So nice to see you Titans," He chortled and the room fell into a pitch blackness once more. "Or not."_

_"Give up, X!" Robin shouted, his voice firm with pride. "We've got you out numbered."_

_"And that's stopped me before?" The metallic voice boomed through the room as another flash of lightning showed he wasn't where he'd been. "I don't think so, Bird Boy."_

_"Titans, Go!" He ordered, even as thunder cracked and drowned out the order. _

_Beast Boy tried first, but was easily evaded and trapped in a pile of red goo within seconds. Cyborg was next to attack, his sonic canon out and at the ready. A quick flick of the wrists, and Cy had his circuits shorting out as small red X's landed on the metal of his body. Robin went after, bo-staff drawn to full extension as he charged. X dodged blow after blow, and landed a few of his own as he moved silently along the floor. _

_Soon, Raven's eyes had adjusted to the dark and she could see perfectly through the thick black. Robin writhed in his bindings, a muffled yell passing through the X across his mouth. Masked eyes pleaded with her, and then Raven was chasing after their foe, up the stairs and onto the roof. It was slick with rain water as she stepped out of the stair well and onto the roof top. She was drenched in seconds, and had to unclasp her cape so that she could move. _

_A bright glint caught her eyes, and she moved just in time to avoid the same thing that had hit Starfire down stairs. She growled over at the laughing thief, her fists glowing with dark magic. His chuckling subsided and he was left staring down the most powerful of the Titans._

_"Well, isn't this ironic, Sunshine?" He questioned, his head tilting affectionately. "A storm when I'm stealing something that reminds me of you."_

_Her eyes widened a fraction before she narrowed them dangerously at him. "What are you talking about, X?"_

_"It's purple," He commented, his voice low. "The stone."_

_He tapped a pouch on his belt, and she could feel his mischievous grin. Huffing, she let her powers bleed out slowly, dripping down to the watery roof and slowly gliding over to where Red-X stood. He didn't even notice until it had wrapped tightly around his ankles, and with a swift movement, she jerked his feet right out from under him. He grimaced, trying to twist away from the magic as she took slow, meaningful steps forward. Her heart hammered a bit as she felt his panic, and she smirked down at him. _

_"Scared, X?" She looked as if she found it funny, but really it hurt a bit. Another person scared stiff. _

_"Hardly, Sunshine." He chuckled as his hands wrapped firmly around_ her_ ankles. "I just needed you a little closer."_

_With a quick tug, she was falling forward again him. Her powers retracted to her, but it was too late as she fell into his strong, unrelenting grip. He rolled over so that she lay, pinned underneath him as the rain beat down on them and lightning flashed high in the clouded sky. If she hadn't let her guard down…_

_"Scared Princess?" He smirked beneath his mask and she glared heatedly up at him. _

_Twisting, she pushed him off and freed herself enough to try and run off. Because she was scared for some reason. She was afraid of him because he had a strange sort of control over her. Always had. It always ended this way. Him and her battling it out, with him winning most of the time. Witty retorts, and low blows were everything they were. But this time she didn't want to fight. She wanted to run. _

_A low, feral growl came from behind her as a firm grip grabbed onto her and flung her into the wall next to the door. She cried out as her head snapped back against the plaster, but he didn't notice her pain as he pinned her against the slick wall behind her. She writhed in pain as he held her hands above her head, but her mind was throbbing so much she didn't even notice. A pulsating pounding rang through her ears, and it hurt so much tears flooded her eyes. A trickle of blood slid through long violet locks as Red-X panted in front of her. _

_"What's wrong?" He asked, his voice almost hollow. "No dry reply?"_

_"No," She hissed up at him, her own voice threaded with a pain so intense it was tangible._

_It was then that he noticed her hurt expression. "Rae… Raven, are you alright?"_

_He sounded genuinely concerned as a small sob passed her lips and the rain switched positions with the wind to pound against his back. "No."_

_"What happened—" He was cut off when they heard foot steps climbing up the stairs. He stroked her face with a strange gentleness that he'd never shown her before as he teleported away. _

_"Raven!" Robin's voice rang out. "Did you get him?"_

"Rae?" Beast Boy leaned forward in front of her, waving his hand before her unblinking eyes. "You in there?"

Gasping softly, her gaze snapped up to his and she smiled meekly. "Sorry. What was that?"

"The movie's over, Raven." He said with a small giggle, and she nodded, standing from her seat.

"And it was very good." She nodded, trying to look serious.

A grin cracked across his face as he shook his head. "It was lame. What're you talkin' about?"

Smiling guiltily, she nodded before melting through the floor and teleporting to her room. A flash of lightning lit it up, revealing an open window. Sighing, she walked over, peaked out, and then shut it against the howling wind and subsiding rain. When she turned around, she just about jumped out of her skin. Red-X stood a few inches away, and he laughed softly at her startled expression.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She hissed, glaring up at him.

"How's the head?" He took a step closer, and she pressed her back against the wall to create as much space between them as possible.

"Th-that's not an answer." She gulped, scanning him subtly.

"And neither is that." He said softly, pulling his gloves off to cradle her face between his hands. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Not that much, anyways."

She tried not to roll her eyes, but couldn't resist as her head started to throb again. "Right."

"I'm serious, Raven." He growled once more that night, his body pressing to hers. "I would never want you in serious pain. You're much too pretty to have hurt written across that face of yours."

She scoffed at that.

"Sunshine," He spoke, his voice taking on a warning tone. "Don't be like that. You know you love me too."

"Oh, please, X…" She sighed, turning her head so that his hands dropped away. "Don't be so egotistical."

"Only around you, baby." He chuckled, leaning close and resting his head against her shoulder.

Raven tensed, her heart skipping a beat as she felt his breath hiss out and ghost across her skin. "X?" She asked uncertainly, and she jumped when her brought his mouth up to meet hers chastely.

"Don't ever make me worry about you like that again." He warned, pressing his mouth more firmly to hers.

At first, she didn't know what to do. A pillow on her bed wrapped in black magic before bursting at the seams, feathers flying across her bed. He nipped her lower lip, urging her to kiss back. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she sighed contently into his mouth and he smiled, his tongue sliding past her lips and into her mouth to meet with her tongue. Her fingers tangled in the little bit of hair she could get a hold of as she arched against him, their mouths working together in a soft passion.

He pulled away grinning like a fool. Grabbing her wrists, he set himself free of her vice like grip, and pressed something small and cold into the palm of her hand. Opening the window, he stood on the sill a cocky smile dancing across his lips as he stared back at her.

"See ya, Sunshine." He jumped at that, and she was left with her lips tingling.

Looking in her hand, she could have screamed in frustration at what she saw. The jewel he stole. Small and perfect and amethyst, lying in the center of her pale hand. A gift from a charmer, a promise from a man, and a kiss from a thief. 

_Fin…_

**Hope you all liked it… Much love (review!)**

**~TaRa**


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